All's Fair
by flouridation
Summary: A Separate Peace Reylo AU. Coming-of-age WWII era novel with deep unresolved sexual tension. Angst, fluff, etc. I'm in love with Ben Solo.


_**AN:**__**hi i love a separate peace and reylo welcome to the inside of my brain**_ Chapter One: The Tree

"Come on, it's not that high," Rey said from the limb above them. She bent her knees and jounced the limb, laughing at everyone's exclamations of terror. "Who wants to be the first to jump?"

"No chance in hell," Poe said, eyeing the tree with distrust. "That branch is twenty feet above the ground."

"It's thi—THICK!" Rey said, startled by a sudden strong breeze that made her lurch and grab at the tree's trunk. "C'mon, who's gonna jump first?"

"How stupid do you think we are?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, why don't you jump?" Rose said, looking at the slow-swirling water of the Devon River below the bank.

"It's a privilege to be the first to jump from this tree. I just want to be generous!" Rey's teeth and eyes both glinted with joy in the afternoon sunlight. It was also warming her skin, bare save for her dark underwear and bra. "Who's gonna do the honors?" Her eyes suddenly alighted on Ben.

_Damn it._ He couldn't say no when she looked at him like that. Not that he found it easy or even possible to say no to her most other times. He made a show of looking around, then shrugged. "Fine," Ben said with a shrug. "I'll do it."

"My man!" Rey crowed as he stripped down to his undershirt and black boxer shorts, folding his pants and sweater into a neat pile with his shoes and socks. She clasped his hand with a warm, strong grip as he clambered up next to her and shook it firmly, then stepped back so he could make his way out to the end of the limb. He took a deep breath, peered down at the ground below, and instantly regretted doing this. Why was he doing this? Oh right, Rey. Rey again. It seemed she was always getting him into situations like this lately. His comfort zone lay forgotten somewhere under his desk in the trigonometry room. He didn't know whether to appreciate this change in himself or to resent it, but he knew that Rey had some strange power over him. He didn't know exactly what it was or how it worked, but it was undeniably present. It concerned him, especially as the hard rocky riverbank lay hungrily below him.

"Off you go," Rey said encouragingly. "Go on, Ben!"

He did as he told her, putting one foot in front of the other as if he were on a balance beam. At the end of the limb he paused again, examining the dark water below and wondering how deep it was. He knew other students had made this jump before, but that didn't mean it was safe. He hesitated, but he could just imagine Rey's hopeful gaze behind him and knew he didn't have a choice. He took another deep breath, then leaped at far as he could into the river. "YES!" Rey exclaimed as he plummeted and landed with an epic splash, sinking many feet below the water level and then resurfacing with a gasp. He blinked the water out of his eyes and saw her teetering above him at the end of the limb. He hastily swam out of her way and then she jumped, yelling in delight before making an even bigger splash than he had. She was under for a second and then breached the river like a dolphin, spitting water out with a cough and beaming as she swam up to him. She grabbed him by the shoulders and plunged him under with a laugh, then a shriek as he spun her underneath too. They made blurry eye underwater eye contact and Ben felt his lips being tugged into a smile. He permitted it, because Rey was the only one who could see.

They reappeared and made their way to shore arm in arm, Rey still whooping with excitement. "Alright, who's next?"

No one ended up going next. The dinner bell rang while everyone else made stumbling excuses about unprecedented trick knees and pulled muscles and potential cramping from recent snacks, and the rest of the crew hurried off to catch their evening meal while Rey and Ben were getting dressed. When they were properly clothed she elbowed him and butted her body against his arm. "Hey, Ben." He turned to her. She then dove for his legs and sent him sprawling onto the ground with a grunt. He smiled inwardly and flipped onto his back, then leaped up and got her into a headlock. She laughed and heaved him over her shoulders as if he weren't the slightest bit bigger than she was. He fell to the ground once again and they sparred for a few more minutes until he finally got her flat on her back and pinned her down for good, red-faced and panting. She stared into his eyes, then looked down at their position and snorted with laughter.

"What?" Ben asked, then suddenly realized he was straddling her. "Oh." He chuckled, covering his smile with a hand, and rolled off her onto the grass. They lay there together for a few moments, catching their breath as the sun cast its final rays down on them and only them. It was warm, so warm, and Ben found himself thinking of Rey's skin. It was a mental association that must have been made when that same sun illuminated her bare body in the tree.

Eventually they stood up and made non-statements about hurrying if they were to be at the dining hall in time for dinner, though by now they were bound to miss it. Acknowledging this, they decided instead to simply retire to their shared dormitory. They turned away from each other politely as they changed out of their day clothes and wet underwear and into pajamas. They pondered over readings and assignments for an hour or so, sitting and lying about cross-legged on the floor and ignoring the perfectly good desks the Devon school had provided for them. They chatted intermittently until they got too tired to bother anymore, then they each crawled into bed, turned out their nightstand lamps, and said goodnight.

_Another perfect day, _and the image of Rey's incandescent eyes were Ben's last thoughts before he slept.


End file.
